Moscow Confirms Successful Evaluation of Reactor-Driven Burevestnik Missile

Russia has tested the reactor-driven Burevestnik long-range missile, according to the state's top military official.

"We have executed a prolonged flight of a reactor-driven projectile and it traveled a 8,700-mile distance, which is not the ultimate range," Senior Military Leader Valery Gerasimov reported to President Vladimir Putin in a public appearance.

The low-flying prototype missile, initially revealed in 2018, has been portrayed as having a theoretically endless flight path and the capability to bypass anti-missile technology.

International analysts have previously cast doubt over the projectile's tactical importance and Russian claims of having effectively trialed it.

The national leader said that a "last accomplished trial" of the armament had been conducted in the previous year, but the assertion lacked outside validation. Of at least 13 known tests, just two instances had limited accomplishment since 2016, as per an disarmament advocacy body.

Gen Gerasimov reported the weapon was in the atmosphere for 15 hours during the trial on October 21.

He explained the weapon's altitude and course adjustments were evaluated and were determined to be complying with standards, based on a domestic media outlet.

"Therefore, it displayed advanced abilities to bypass missile and air defence systems," the news agency stated the commander as saying.

The projectile's application has been the focus of vigorous discussion in military and defence circles since it was initially revealed in 2018.

A 2021 report by a US Air Force intelligence center determined: "A reactor-driven long-range projectile would give Russia a singular system with global strike capacity."

However, as an international strategic institute observed the same year, the nation confronts significant challenges in developing a functional system.

"Its induction into the country's stockpile potentially relies not only on surmounting the considerable technical challenge of securing the reliable performance of the atomic power system," experts noted.

"There have been numerous flight-test failures, and a mishap leading to a number of casualties."

A military journal referenced in the study states the projectile has a operational radius of between 6,200 and 12,400 miles, enabling "the projectile to be stationed throughout the nation and still be capable to target goals in the continental US."

The identical publication also says the projectile can operate as close to the ground as 50 to 100 metres above ground, causing complexity for defensive networks to intercept.

The weapon, designated an operational name by a foreign security organization, is thought to be propelled by a nuclear reactor, which is designed to commence operation after solid fuel rocket boosters have launched it into the air.

An examination by a reporting service recently identified a location a considerable distance north of Moscow as the likely launch site of the armament.

Employing satellite imagery from the recent past, an analyst informed the service he had observed nine horizontal launch pads in development at the site.

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